Sunday, October 08, 2006

Adi wrote these brief appetising reflections on Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity

...a really good book (even if I have not finished reading it), which I think should be read by any Christian, whom Jesus called as the salt and light of the world. This book will help us to go out of the sacred/secular, private/public, or fact/value split, which has been dominating our world today--without us realising it--and has prevented us to let our faith speak to every aspects of life. As emphasized by the author, many Christians are satisfied with being a Christian in their work, and never bother to have a biblical framework on the work itself. Some perhaps have realised that it is not enough just being a Christian in their work, but they don't know how to craft a Christian worldview, a Christian philosophy, on their work. Hence it is the call of this book for all Christians to live out our faith in every areas of life, for in fact if we truly believe our faith to be the truth, then we will see it as a total world- and life-view.

The fact that we do not regard our faith as total truth--and so we lock our faith in a private compartment of our lives--runs contrary to the Scriptures. For if God is the Lord of all creation, then all creation--every single area of life--must bow to His Word. Furthermore, the Bible does not talk about the redemption of souls only, but also the whole creation. We, the redeemed people, are God's agents to bring redemption unto this world. If we truly believe that the Word of God shines upon every aspect of our lives, then, we should have a Christian philosophy of everything, yes, everything under the sun.

What really matters is then to have a correct view of our faith as a worldview, and to let it shape everything that we do. "The most effective work ... is done by ordinary Christians fulfilling God's calling to reform culture within their local spheres of influence--their families, churches, schools, neighborhoods, workplaces, professional organizations, and civic institutions. In order to effect lasting change, ... we need to develop a Christian worldview" (Total Truth, p.19).